Buchou's Sitters We Are
by HimekawaRie
Summary: He always tells them to not get careless. Seems like they did. Now, they have to pay the consequences. No, he was not like that when he was...
1. Chapter 1

_An attempt of a Prince Of Tennis humor! Bear with me, please!. Oh, no, they're not mine, not before, not now, not ever… sigh…_

**Buchou-Sitters We Are!**

**Part 1**

**OH MY GOD!**

Ryoma looked into their room, but no one's there. The many hastily thrown blankets were everywhere.

"Heee… Buchou's futon's still intact," commented Momo.

"That's because he woke up before we did," said Kaidoh.

"No, he didn't," Ryoma corrected, "That's why we're looking for him, right?"

"His being not on the court doesn't mean he's not woken up, yanno," Momo shook his head.

"Well, he's not here either…" Ryoma stopped as Karupin slid in and ran to where Tezuka's futon was, and meowed softly.

"Karu?"

Ryoma entered the room and walked over to where Karupin is, "What is it, girl?"

"Meow…"

"Oy, Echizen…"

"Fsshhh…"

The three looked at the small lump under the blanket. They looked at each other, blinking.

Momoshiro reached to tugged the blanket off, and they were faced with…

A cute little boy, not more than five years old, curling in blue pajamas top too big for him.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Meow!"

"Momo-senpai…"

"Echizen…"

"Fsshhhh…"

"Meow meow!"

"Isn't that…"

"Buchou's pajama?"

"Fshhhhhhhhhhh…"

"Meow…"

The three paled as they looked at each other.

A few seconds later…

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"FSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

"SENPAI-TACHI!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IN HERE!!!!!!! QUICK!!!!!!!!!!"

"MEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOWMEOW!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Startled, the kid woke up abruptly, and came face to face with three freaking out boys.

"Oops…"

"Uh-oh…"

"Fshhh…"

"Meow?"

The kid, being one so young as that, predictably reacted as someone as young as he would.

He cried.

Oh, no, he didn't cry softly, he didn't sniffle, he didn't cry gracefully. He damn straight WAILED.

"What the…" Oishi, the first one who skidded into the room before the other regulars, asked uncertainly.

Kawamura's jaw dropped.

Eiji paled.

Inui corrected his glasses.

Fuji's eyes flew opened in shock.

The kid, upon seeing even more people in the room, cried even louder.

The boys were rooted.

One, though, managed to control himself quite remarkably, and pulled himself out of his state of shock and walked over to sit in front of the boy, reaching out to pat his head softly.

"There there… it's okay… sorry if we surprise you, it's okay, don't cry… shhhhh, it's okay…"

Gradually, the wail turned into sniffle, and the kid looked at them, still a little scared.

Fuji pulled out a tissue and wiped the boy's face, "My name's Shusuke. What's yours?"

The kid looked at the tensai who was still caressing his hair and blinked once.

Twice.

"Or do you want me to call you chibi?"

He scrunched his little face in disgust.

"Well, I have to call you something…"

"Meow…"

Karupin sidled over onto the kid's lap and licked his fingers.

"That's Karupin. I think she likes you."

The kid petted Karupin, who purred softly.

"Do you like cats?"

The kid nodded.

"You can play with Karupin if you tell me your name."

The kid looked at Fuji, who simply smiled disarmingly, albeit having his blue eyes open.

"Kunimitsu…"

"What's that?" Fuji's eyes widened.

"Ore… Kunimitsu."

"Oh…"

The other boys looked ready to drop.

"What's all this yelling about?! And who cried?!" A bellowing voice was heard and all turned to look at a fuming Ryuzaki Sumire.

The result of the shout was, of course…

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH………………"

Sighing, the tensai simply took the boy, still dressed in the overlarge pajama top, into his arms and cuddled him close, "Oh, hush now, Kuni-chan… Oniichan will take good care of you… so hush now, okay?"

The cry died down, but the boy gripped Fuji's regular jersey tightly, trying to hide himself.

Sumire looked shocked.

"Fuji… who…"

"Oh? This is Kunimitsu-chan. We found him sleeping in buchou's bunk," said Fuji, carefully stressing the words 'this', 'chan', and 'buchou'.

Sumire's eyes widened, "Masaka…"

"Oi… Fuji… that's…" Oishi seemed to have found his voice.

"I'm going to bath Kuni-chan first, then we can all have breakfast, kay?"

Without another word, Fuji swept out and called the ichinen trio and the two ichinen girls as he went to the bathroom.

Silence.

"Ne, Kuni-chan, how old are you?"

"Five."

"Five? Oh, my, you're a big boy!"

"Uh-hm, I am!"

"And where're your parents, Kuni-chan?"

"…"

"Your house?"

"…"

_sniffle_

"Oh, no, don't cry anymore… we'll find your family. For the mean time, why don't you stay with us?"

"Us?"

"Yes. Us, the Seigaku Regulars."

"Se-i-ga-ku Re-gyu-ra?"

"Hai. Seigaku Regulars. Me and the boys you've seen earlier."

"…"

"Don't worry. They were only shocked. They're nice, really. One of them, Momo, can eat 15 burgers."

"FIFTEEN?"

"Hai, and Ryoma is Karupin's owner. Kaidoh is the one with bandanna, he always says fshhhhh…"

"Fsshhhh…"

_giggle_

"Yeah, like that. Now close your eyes, I'm rinsing the shampoo off."

"Okay!"

"Good, we're finished. Now where is that towel…"

"There!"

"Oh, I see it. You're so smart, Kuni-chan!"

_giggle giggle_

"Now, the shirt Kachirou-kun lent you…"

"There!"

"Ah, here it is! Now let's put this on, and we can have breakfast, okay?"

"Breakfast!"

"Mm. What do you want for breakfast, Kuni-chan?"

"Mmm… rice?"

"Rice? Only rice?"

"With chicken!"

"Rice with chicken. Okay. I'll tell the ichinen to cook it for you. Then you have to say thank you to them."

"Hai, niichan!"

_smile_

_giggle giggle_

The bathroom door opened, and the ichinen trio looked at Fuji who came out holding Kuni-chan in his arms.

"Ah, Fuji-senpai, is the t-shirt okay?" asked Kachirou.

"Yes, Kachirou -kun, it is, ne, Kuni-chan?"

"Hai. Arigato, niichan!"

"Kawaii…" Tomoka crowed.

Sakuno nodded, blushing slightly.

"Ne, I have to speak to Ryuzaki-sensei first, and I think Kuni-chan needs breakfast. You can make chicken with rice, can't you, Katsuo-kun?"

"Sure, Fuji-senpai."

"Good. Kuni-chan, you go with oniichan-tachi and oneechan-tachi and eat breakfast, okay?"

Kuni-chan looked uncertain.

Tomoka, being the one with younger siblings to care for, stepped up and reached out to Kuni-chan, "Hello, Kuni-chan. My name's Tomoka. This is Sakuno. Won't you have breakfast with us? We're starving, and Katsuo cooks very well!"

"Yes, Kuni-chan. Come on, let's have breakfast!" Sakuno smiled.

Kuni-chan smiled back and nodded, "Okay!"

Fuji set the boy down, "Now remember, don't touch anything in the kitchen, Kuni-chan."

"Hai, niichan."

"Can I trust the five of you to take good care of him, or else?"

There were gulps from the five, but they all nodded.

"Okay then. Run along, kids."

Tomoka took Kuni-chan's left hand, Sakuno took his right, and they all skipped toward the kitchen, Kuni-chan's happy voice talking incessantly, asking about this and that.

Fuji smiled, but as they went around the corner and disappeared, the smile disappeared.

Blue eyes opened dangerously as the tensai purposefully walked back to the meeting room, where he's certain his friends are.

TBC… 

_Author's Note:_

_There'll be many flashbacks here. This was written after I read Naoe Kita's KING MARKER. Chibi-Reuel's so cute!_

_Like always, R/R greatly appreciated… Thanks for reading!_

_THR_


	2. Chapter 2

_An attempt of a Prince Of Tennis humor! Bear with me, please!. Oh, no, they're not mine, not before, not now, not ever… sigh…_

**Buchou-Sitters We Are!**

**Part 2**

**A Lot of Boys (and Two Girls and An Old Woman) and A Kid**

It was supposed to be a usual training camp. They were to have a lot of practice and a lot of training. They were to wake up at an ungodly hour and sleep exhausted. For two days, it seemed to be okay. But on this third day…

Ryuzaki Sumire rubbed her forehead wearily.

She had ordered the other regulars to run a frantic search on their missing buchou.

She refused to acknowledge the chibi that Fuji had carried into the bathroom was Tezuka.

But still, Tezuka was not found.

So, there they were, sitting in the meeting room, waiting for the inevitable.

Namely, an enraged Fuji.

Who stormed into the room and visibly burned.

"EXPLAIN!"

"Now, Fuji…"

"THAT CHILD IS TEZUKA. I WANT EXPLANATION AND I WANT ONE NOW!"

"Ehhh…"

"Fuji, are you sure that's Tezuka?" Oishi tried to say, "I mean, he doesn't act like Tezuka."

"He's five years old, Oishi, what do you expect?"

"Oh, right…"

"Fuji," Inui said calmly, "What have you found out so far?"

"Well," Fuji raked his hand through his hair, "He said he's five, he knows his given name, he likes Karupin, he likes rice with chicken, seems to get along well with the ichinen, who simply adore him, but that's all about it. He doesn't seem to know about his parents or his house…"

"I see…"

"Inui, nya… tell me honestly," Kikumaru shivered, "Did you make him drink any of your… beverages?"

"No," Inui shook his head, "The juices are only for losers of the game. Tezuka won every match he'd had so far."

"So…" Echizen looked mightily uncomfortable, "That was really buchou?"

Everyone fell silent, looking at Fuji.

"It's him," Fuji affirmed.

Silence.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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"Shu-nii!"

Fuji looked around to see little Kunimitsu waving at him.

He waved back.

Sakuno took Kunimitsu toward the court and Karupin bounded over to the little boy, who laughed and lifted up the cat.

Ryoma frowned.

"Kuni-chan! Come here for a minute, will you?"

Kunimitsu nodded and ran over to the court, skipping a little, and stopped in front of Fuji.

"Hai, Shu-nii?"

"Come here," Fuji knelt, smiled and opened his arms. Kunimitsu giggled and went right into Fuji's warm hug, cat and all.

From afar, Sakuno smiled, bowed, and left toward the house.

"I'll introduce you to everyone, Kuni-chan," Fuji said, gesturing the others to come near.

The others inched closer carefully, all felt much too awkward to not do anything stupid.

"This is Echizen Ryoma, he's the one who owns Karupin. Say thanks to him for letting you play with her."

"Arigato, Ryo-nii!"

Ryoma nodded, felling slightly embarrassed.

"This is Oishi Shuichirou. If you got hurt or anything, find him, okay?"

"Shu… nii, too?"

Oishi laughed a bit as he knelt to take a good look at the boy, "You can call me Oishi. Can I call you Kunimitsu?"

"Kuni-chan! Ore Kuni-chan! Oishii-nii."

Some of the regulars laughed at that.

"It's Oishi, Kuni-chan. O-I-SHI."

"Oishii-nii!"

"That's okay, Fuji…" Oishi smiled.

"My turn, my turn," Kikumaru jumped and hugged the boy, effectively taking him from Fuji, "Ne, Kuni-chan! I'm Kikumaru Eiji. Call me Eiji-nii!"

"Eiji-nii."

Eiji grinned from ear to ear, "Kawaii…"

Kawamura was next, kneeling in front of Kunimitsu, "Hi, Kuni-chan. I'm Kawamura Takashi."

"He makes good sushi," said Kikumaru.

"Taka-nii?"

Kawamura beamed at that.

"I'm next. Inui Sadaharu. It's nice meeting you, Kuni-chan…"

Kunimitsu's eyes widened as he saw how tall Inui was, "Sada-nii is very tall…"

Inui shrugged, remembering that Kunimitsu's not much shorter than he was before. Well… Tezuka wasn't.

"Well, I'll go next. Momoshiro Takeshi. Call me Momo-chan!"

"Momo-chan-nii?"

"Ah… that's okay…" Momoshiro blushed.

"I'm next. Kaidoh Kaoru."

Kunimitsu brightened, "Kaoru-nii," he decided.

Kaidoh turned scarlet.

"Have you known the niisan and neesan who were with you before?" asked Fuji.

"Mm… Saku-nee, Tomo-nee, Horio-nii, Katsu-nii, Kachi-nii."

"Good. This is Ryuzaki Sumire-sensei. She's our tennis club coach."

Sumire smiled at the little boy warmly, "Hello, Kuni-chan."

"Ryu… zaki-sensei?" Kunimitsu asked.

It's obvious the child had problem with long names, with the way he shortened his own and everyone else's names.

"Baachan. You can call me Baachan. Now, your senpai must continue practicing. Why don't I give you a ball and a racket, and you can practice with me?"

Kunimitsu beamed, letting go of Karupin, and jumped into Sumire's arms.

"HAI, BAACHAN!"

Ryuzaki, for lack of better word, was shocked.

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"Yes, that's good, Kuni-chan, keep it up!"

"Hai, Baachan!"

Fuji looked at Kunimitsu who was running all over the court hitting thrown balls with his racket. Even being so small, he could hit the balls quite accurately with that too-large-for-a-five-years-old racket he held, although not with the power he had as their captain. He smiled whenever he managed a hit and laughed when he missed, running to catch the missed balls with his bare hand or racket and tossed it back to Ryuzaki.

Such a carefree child.

"OK, that's enough for today. Boys, go and take a shower, all of you!"

"Shu-nii!"

Fuji caught the small jumping boy and hauled him up to his arms, "Kuni-chan, you're sweating!"

"So are you!" the child giggled.

"We have to bath you again… Ne, Echizen, can you find the other first years and asked them if they had bought what I ordered?"

"Bought what?" Echizen asked

"Clothes for Kuni-chan."

"For me?"

"Yes, Kuni-chan. For you."

Echizen nodded and left.

"Bye, Ryo-nii!"

"Fuji, I think you're spoiling the boy," Kawamura said, albeit with a smile on his face.

"Why not? Kuni-chan is a good boy, right?"

"Yeah! Kuni-chan is good!"

Inui laughed, "C'mon, Kuni-chan. Fuji's tired."

"Okay," The boy slid down and found himself in Eiji's arms.

"Tickle fight!" Eiji laughed, and began tickling Kuni-chan that the boy shrieked and giggled.

"Eiji! Let him go! He can't breathe giggling like that!" Oishi, ever the mother-hen, rescued the laughing boy from his partner's tickling fingers.

Momoshiro laughed and grabbed Kunimitsu, swung him on his shoulders and steadied him there while walking toward the house, "Hold on tight, Kuni-chan!"

"Hai, Momo-chan-nii!"

Kaidoh, strangely enough, trailed after them protectively.

"I think Kuni-chan had activated big brother mode in all of us," Inui said amusedly.

"I'm just glad you guys don't feel weird about it. After all…" Fuji shrugged.

"Yeah," Oishi sighed, "I can't believe that's Tezuka! He's so…"

"So childish!" Kikumaru grinned.

"Lively," Inui added.

"Cute," Kawamura smiled.

"Innocent," Fuji concluded.

"Does he need his glasses?" asked Eiji.

"Well, I think not… at least, maybe, not yet… after all, he's only five."

"C'mon, let's go. We need to take a bath," Oishi said, and they all moved as one to the house.

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"Kuni-chan! Come here! Let me wash your hair!"

"Okay, Oishii-nii!"

"Close your eyes, Kuni-chan."

"It's cold, Sada-nii!"

"It's not that cold, Kuni-chan. I'll wash your back."

Giggle giggle… 

"Momo, that's tickling, not washing his back."

"Oops, sorry, Taka-san…"

Giggle giggle… "Kuni-chan's finished his bath!" 

"Eiji, give him to me."

"No, Fuji-senpai, I'll do it."

"Mamushi???!!!"

"What?! Kuni-chan, let's dry you off."

"Okay, Kaoru-nii."

"Here're the clothes, Kaidoh-senpai. Mind if I help putting it on?"

"I can dress on my own!"

"Of course you can. Can you manage the t-shirt?"

"Uhhh… no…"

"Hmmpphhh…"

"Ryo-nii! My head stuck!"

"Oh, you… that's for your arm, not your head!"

"Fuji, nya… doesn't this kid know how to put buttonless t-shirts?"

"Maybe the shirt's too small, Eiji…"

"Perhaps…"

"No, it's not, Momo-senpai.. See? It fits."

Giggle giggle…

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Outside, the ichinen laughed wholeheartedly.

Ryuzaki smiled, hearing the commotion in the bathing chamber.

Somehow, it didn't feel so depressing anymore.

Even so… she still couldn't believe that the child is Tezuka.

Who'd gone missing for a day.

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"I don't like carrot."

"But carrot likes you, Kuni-chan!"

"Carrot likes me?"

"Yes!"

"… OK! I like carrot."

"That's a good boy. Besides, carrot is good for your eyes."

"Really?"

"Really. Eat another one."

"Okay."

"Is this how you treated Yuuta-kun, Fuji?" asked Inui.

"Eh? No, this is how neesan treated Yuuta."

"Oh, I see… Ii data."

"I want corn!"

"Here you are, Kuni-chan."

"Arigato, Saku-nee!"

"You're welcome."

"He's so kawaii, isn't he, Sakuno?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Kuni-chan."

"Wotay." 

"I thought you said don't talk, Kawamura-senpai."

"I think the kid needs to answer everything, Echizen…"

"Kuni-chan's so talkative, ne, Momo?

"Fsshhhh…"

"Kaoru-nii goes fssshhhh…"

"Yes, Kuni-chan, but don't imitate him, you're not a snake."

"I'm not, Eiji-nii."

"No. You're more like a lion cub."

"Am I really, Sada-nii ?

"Of course not, Kuni-chan."

"…"

"Kuni-chan? What's wrong?"

"Shu-nii … Tomo-nee said I'm cute. Oishii-nii said I'm talkative. Eiji-nii said I'm not a snake. Ryo-nii said I'm a lion cub. Sada-nii said I'm not lion cub. So what am I?"

Everyone bursted laughing.

"You're a boy, Kuni-chan," Ryuzaki carefully stifled her laughter, "A very cute, bright, energetic, and lovable boy."

"Oh… okay."

Again, everyone laughed at the boy's easy acceptance.

"Ne, Fuji…" Inui leaned to whisper to the boy beside him, "He accepts whatever answer or information we gave him, as long as no one's contradicting it."

"Mmm… Better keep a good eye on him. He absorbs things like sponge, and I know from personal experience, that can be dangerous by itself."

"You do?"

"Yes. I do that all the time. Being sponges, I mean. At that age, I had no filter at all, and everything just flowed in unchecked. If it wasn't for Yumiko-neesan who often checked things here and there…"

"I see…"

"Ii data, Inui?"

"No, I've known that since a long time ago."

"Shu-nii…"

"Yes, Kuni-chan?"

"Kaoru-nii is not a snake."

Everyone laughed again.

"That's a very good observation, Kuni-chan," commented Ryuzaki.

"Then why did Shu-nii say he's a snake?"

"He's not a snake. He only makes sounds _like_ snakes," Kawamura explained

"Oh…"

"I think he gets it," Eiji whispered to Oishi, who was sitting beside him.

"Ne, Kaoru-nii…"

"Uh-oh…" Kaidoh looked trapped.

"If you're not a snake, why are you making snakey sounds?"

Momoshiro snorted. Echizen grinned.

"I think, Fuji, your sister is a very patient woman, considering you chattered like this all the time when you're this age…" Inui sighed.

Kaidoh shrugged," It's a hobby, Kuni-chan. Now finish your food, and I'll make a glass of milk for you. Then we're going to sleep."

"Okay."

And the kid didn't ask anything else. He simply finished his food without complain.

"Wow…" Oishi shook his head, "Kaidoh's good…"

"He has a kid brother who's a chatterbox, I heard…" Inui explained quietly.

"I see…"

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"Beddy bye time! Kuni-chan will sleep here," Oishi said, pointing to Tezuka's futon, which's laid between Fuji's and Oishi's.

"Do I have to?" asked Kunimitsu.

"Yes. It's already late, and you're yawning," said Momoshiro.

"I'm…" Kunimitsu yawned, "…not."

"Yeah, right," Eiji grinned.

"C'mon, into the futon you go," Kawamura ushered the kid to lie down and covered him with a quilt.

"If it gets too cold, take another blanket, okay?" Fuji indicated the pile of blankets near his futon, and Kunimitsu nodded.

"Sleep tight, let no bed bugs bite, I'll see you again when the day is bright," Fuji gave a light kiss on the kid's hair, and he giggled softly in response.

"Ryo-nii…"

"Yes?"

"May Karupin sleep with me?"

Ryoma looked at the cat curling beside his futon, tilting his head.

Karupin looked back at him, and meowed softly.

"Okay. Karu, you sleep with Kuni-chan."

The cat meowed again, ran toward Kunimitsu's bed, and slipped into the futon, creating a mound that Kunimitsu heartily hugged. Karupin's head popped out of the quilt, licking the kid's nose.

Another stream of giggles was heard.

"Is it only me or does this child giggle so much?" asked Horio.

"Ne, Momo-chan-senpai, why did buchou have to suddenly leave anyway?" asked Katsuo.

By compromise, the regulars didn't tell the other ichinen that Kunimitsu's (probably) Tezuka.

"Beats me," Momoshiro shrugged, his eyes looking at the child already drooping to sleep.

"Maybe he had something important to do…" Kachirou guessed.

"Maybe…" Kaidoh looked over toward the small precious bundle he'd sworn to protect, although his sanity kept on asking from where the hell did this motherly instinct came.

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"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

All the boys in the room were startled awake.

Blindly, Kawamura, who was closest to the lamp switch, reached out. It took a few wrong hits on the wall until the lamp flashed on.

Blinking, Inui put on his glasses, to see Kunimitsu in Fuji's arms, wailing outright, Oishi trying to shush him frantically.

"What happened? Did Karu scratch him or something?" asked Echizen, already standing over them, Karupin standing near his legs.

"I think it's a nightmare," Fuji said, rocking the child back and forth on his lap.

"It's okay, Kuni-chan, it's only a nightmare…" Oishi tried again.

Kunimitsu kept on crying, although not as loud as before.

"What is it? Boys?" Ryuzaki's voice was heard, and Kachirou went to open the sliding door, revealing Ryuzaki, Sakuno, and Tomoka.

"Kuni-chan had a nightmare," Katsuo explained.

All present in the room (and outside the door) looked at the child, still bundled in the quilt, safely ensconced in Fuji's arms, yet still crying, frightened.

"I'll go and make some hot chocolate, it'll calm him down," Tomoka said, "C'mon, Sakuno!"

The two girls sped up to the kitchen.

The cry had turned to sniffles and hiccups, and Fuji accepted the tissue Kawamura held out to him to wipe Kunimitsu's face.

"Are you okay now?" asked Eiji, sitting close to Fuji.

Kunimitsu shook his head.

"What did you dream, Kuni-chan?" asked Inui.

Again, another shake of the head.

"Oh, it had to be so scary if you cry like that…" Momoshiro coaxed.

A nod.

"What is it?" asked Kaidoh softly.

Kunimitsu sniffled, "Dark…"

"Dark?" asked Oishi.

"It was dark, and there was no one… Kuni called niisan, neesan, and Baachan, but no one came, and it became darker and darker and Kuni couldn't see anything and something grabbed Kuni and Kuni couldn't breath and it hurt and… " the kid cried again.

"Hush now, Kuni-chan, sorry we asked you that…" Fuji cooed.

"It's light here, see? The lamp's on. It's not dark, and we are here," Echizen knelt in front of Fuji and reached out to caress Kunimitsu's hair.

"No one will hurt you, Kuni-chan," Kaidoh said confidently, "We all will protect you."

"Okay," Kunimitsu sniffled again, and the cried died down.

Sakuno and Tomoka returned with a mug of warm chocolate, which Ryuzaki took. She stepped into the room and gave the mug to the bundled little boy.

"Here, Kuni-chan, drink this and you'll feel better."

Kunimitsu reached out for the mug, and Fuji helped him held the mug as he drank carefully.

"Is it nice?" asked Sakuno from the doorway.

"Mmmm... Arigato, neesan…"

Tomoka beamed as Sakuno blushed.

Ryuzaki took the mug away and put it on a high table, putting a sheet of tissue as a temporary lid, "I'm putting it here, Kuni-chan, if you want it, you can ask one of the boys to take it for you."

"Hai, Baachan…"

Looking at the kid, Fuji smiled, "I think he's ready to sleep again."

In a short while, with Fuji rocking him back and forth, Kunimitsu fell asleep peacefully. When Fuji tried to lay him down on his own futon, though, he twisted and tried to hold on to Fuji.

"Oh, dear…" Fuji sighed.

"I think… maybe you should let him sleep with you, Fuji-senpai…" Momoshiro said hesitantly.

"Maybe I should," Fuji nodded, "for now. Later on, he'd have to learn to sleep by himself."

With that, Fuji returned to his futon, wrapped himself and Kunimitsu together, and said softly, "Dim the light, but don't turn it off."

Kawamura complied, and as everyone settled back to their own futon, Karupin then curling beside Fuji's futon, Kunimitsu snuggled closer to Fuji.

Fuji smiled softly, not his usual FujiSmile, but a genuine smile, and closed his eyes, counting the child's breath, until he himself fell asleep.

TBC… 

_**Author's Note:**_

_Finally! Another chapter done! It took so long… forgive my lateness…_

_For all those who reviewed and nags, thank you so much. I need those._

_Oh, I case anyone wondering…_

…_-__**nii**__ is the short for …-__**niisan**__, meaning older brother. I got it from Rurouni Kenshin (Kenshin became Ken-nii for the children)_

…_-__**nee**__ is the short for …-__**neesan**__, meaning older sister. That one's from 1 Litre of Tears. Aya's younger siblings call her Aya-nee. BTW, has anyone watch it? It really triggered 1 litre of tears, not to mention that it's a true story… _

_**Ore**__ is how boys call themselves (there are two ways, ore and boku, if I'm not mistaken. Girls usually use atashi)._

_**Baachan**__ is grandma. Correct me if I'm wrong, I usually confuse it with __**bachan**__. One of them is grandma and the other is auntie. _

_**Oishii**__ is the Japanese for delicious or yummy (Or is it oiishi, I forgot the romaji spelling. Correct me if I'm wrong)._

_**Futon**__ is Japanese bed which you can fold and keep in the cupboard after use. Not very practical. But it saves a lot of space._

_Well, I'll see you next chapter. Thanks for reading. R/R greatly appreciated!_

_THR_


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